Rio Fanning
Rio Fanning (born in Newry, County Down on 7th November 1931 and died in Towcester, Northamptonshire on 12th August 2018, known under the pen name Michael Robartes) was a writer on ''EastEnders'','' contributing a total of '''65' episodes across two stints: firstly from April 1985 to October 1989 and secondly from April 1992 to January 1995. As well as writing on the show, Rio was also the storyline editor of 16 episodes between November 1990 and January 1991. Rio started out training as an actor at the London School of Drama and, following a successful outcome, he became the founder-member of the short-lived Bangor New Theatre in 1955, which at the time was the first professional company in Northern Ireland to be formed outside Belfast. In 1959, Rio made his first on-screen television appearance in an adaptation of Great Expectations. Then, in 1962, he made his first West End debut in theatre as Captain Brennan in Sean O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars. He continued to act in stage plays in the West End for a number of years. In total, Rio made on-screen appearances in a number of television shows across 55 years, on shows such as Budgie, The Regiment, Doctor Who, Emmerdale, The District Nurse and All Creatures Great and Small. His final contribution to television as an actor came about in 2014 when he appeared as a guest star in an episode of Doctors. As well as acting, Rio enjoyed a career in writing under the pen name of Michael Robartes, and wrote scripts for shows including Emmerdale, The District Nurse, Ballykissangel, Peak Practice and Relic Hunter. He would also occasionally direct stage plays in theatres. Episodes written by Rio Fanning Note: All episodes were written under the pen name of Michael Robartes 1980s 1985 (7 episodes) *Episode 13 (2nd April 1985) *Episode 20 (25th April 1985) *Episode 38 (27th June 1985) *Episode 46 (25th July 1985) *Episode 53 (20th August 1985) *Episode 73 (29th October 1985) *Episode 84 (5th December 1985) 1986 (9 episodes) *Episode 98 (23rd January 1986) *Episode 105 (18th February 1986) *Episode 121 (15th April 1986) *Episode 131 (20th May 1986) *Episode 137 (10th June 1986) *Episode 165 (16th September 1986) *Episode 171 (7th October 1986) *Episode 178 (30th October 1986) *Episode 188 (4th December 1986) 1987 (10 episodes) *Episode 198 (6th January 1987) *Episode 204 (27th January 1987) *Episode 216 (10th March 1987) *Episode 244 (16th June 1987) *Episode 252 (14th July 1987) *Episode 263 (20th August 1987) *Episode 272 (22nd September 1987) *Episode 282 (27th October 1987) *Episode 295 (10th December 1987) *Episode 296 (15th December 1987) 1988 (10 episodes) *Episode 307 (14th January 1988) *Episode 316 (16th February 1988) *Episode 325 (17th March 1988) *Episode 331 (7th April 1988) *Episode 338 (3rd May 1988) *Episode 349 (9th June 1988) *Episode 365 (4th August 1988) *Episode 388 (25th October 1988) *Episode 396 (22nd November 1988) *Episode 407 (29th December 1988) 1989 (5 episodes) *Episode 424 (28th February 1989) *Episode 440 (25th April 1989) *Episode 461 (6th July 1989) *Episode 473 (17th August 1989) *Episode 490 (17th October 1989) 1990s 1992 (5 episodes) *Episode 751 (16th April 1992) *Episode 765 (4th June 1992) *Episode 775 (9th July 1992) *Episode 788 (25th August 1992) *Episode 821 (17th December 1992) 1993 (8 episodes) *Episode 847 (16th March 1993) *Episode 848 (18th March 1993) *Episode 871 (8th June 1993) *Episode 872 (10th June 1993) *Episode 887 (3rd August 1993) *Episode 888 (5th August 1993) *Episode 913 (2nd November 1993) *Episode 914 (4th November 1993) 1994 (9 episodes) *Episode 936 (18th January 1994) *Episode 937 (20th January 1994) *Episode 956 (29th March 1994) *Episode 957 (31st March 1994) *Episode 981 (31st May 1994) *Episode 1022 (5th September 1994) *Episode 1023 (6th September 1994) *Episode 1049 (7th November 1994) *Episode 1050 (8th November 1994) 1995 (2 episodes) *Episode 1075 (3rd January 1995) *Episode 1076 (5th January 1995) Episodes storyline edited by Rio Fanning 1990 (14 episodes) *All episodes between Episode 602 (13th November 1990) and Episode 615 (27th December 1990) 1991 (2 episodes) *Episode 616 (1st January 1991) and Episode 617 (3rd January 1991) Category:EastEnders writers Category:EastEnders storyline editors